Cops: Getaway driver arrested after cross-dressing robber shot

AIKEN, SC (WCSC/WIS) - A man wearing a flowered dress and carrying a purse was tracked down at a hospital after being shot in the face while trying to rob a jewelry store, according to police. Now authorities say they have caught the man's getaway driver.

Police say 20-year-old Dominique Lee Fortenberry of Summerville was arrested and charged with armed robbery as soon as he was released from surgery. On Tuesday, police arrested Christie Janelle Jackson, 29, for attempted armed robbery in the same incident.

Aiken police say Fortenberry, who was wearing a flowered dress and carrying a purse, entered Porky Bradberry's Jewelry on Whiskey Road in Aiken around 1 p.m. Monday. Investigators say the suspect put his purse down and pulled a gun on the store's owner, Porky Bradberry.

At that point, police say Fortenberry and Bradberry fired shots at each other, but it is unclear who fired first.

Bradberry was shot in the arm, and was treated and released from the hospital. Fortenberry, however, was not so lucky. Investigators say the suspect took off running after being shot in the face, leaving behind a pool of blood in the store's parking lot.

Fortenberry was out on bond for burglary charges stemming back to a May 23 incident in Summerville. Authorities in Summerville say Fortenberry broke into a home in the Boykin subdivision and stole a Nintendo Wii and a Kodak digital camera valued at $680. Authorities say Fortenberry pawned the stolen items the same day.

In Monday's crime, evidence at the scene showed that the store's owner fired several shots with a small caliber gun at Fortenberry, investigators say.

Turno said police found several items covered with blood in different parts of the adjacent Aiken Estates. It was clear to police that Fortenberry was in a vehicle because the items were so spread out.

Police eventually found Fortenberry at an Augusta hospital. Jackson was later identified as the driver of Fortenberry's getaway vehicle.

Two other employees were in the store at the time of the incident, and both were not hurt.

His son, Keith Bradberry, was working with his dad in the store when shots fired and says his dad saved his life.

"I know my dad was a hero today because if he hadn't shot the culprit, we'd both be dead," Keith told WRDW-TV.

Copyright WCSC and WIS 2011. All rights reserved. WRDW contributed to this report.